Tibetan / Vajrayana

Vajrayana Buddhism is most closely associated with Tibet and can be characterized by the figure of the siddha, the master whose spiritual realization is so profound that he or she has power over the phenomenal world, and in whom the profundity and vastness of absolute truth is fully and completely manifested. Many of our most well-known authors come from this tradition of Tibetan Buddhism .

[Note: The tags for the various schools are not definitive as many books span multiple traditions, etc. They are meant to use as a starting point for exploring this collection.]

Inspired Verse of the Shangpa Masters

Throughout history awakened ones have celebrated the rapture of mystical states with inspired verse sung extemporaneously. This book offers a rare glimpse into the mysticism of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage a tradition based mainly on the profound teaching of… Read More

Jam-Yang-Shay-Ba's Great Exposition of Buddhist and Non-Buddhist Views on the Nature of Reality

Myriad Worlds

In Tibetan religious literature, Jamgön Kongtrül's Treasury of Knowledge in ten books stands out as a unique, encyclopedic masterpiece embodying the entire range of Buddhist teachings as they were preserved in Tibet. In his monumental Treasury of Knowledge, Jamgön Kongtrül… Read More

Buddhist Ethics

In Tibetan religious literature, Jamgön Kongtrül's Treasury of Knowledge in ten books stands out as a unique, encyclopedic masterpiece embodying the entire range of Buddhist teachings as it was preserved in Tibet. This volume is the fifth book of that… Read More

A Tale of Vengeance and Compassion

This exciting tale demonstrates the pitfalls of anger and revenge. Wronged by a greedy jeweler, the giant Mu becomes a robber chief. Unexpected twists reveal the mysterious workings of karma. A missing purse, a golden crown, and a secret cave… Read More

A Gem of Many Colors

Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye (1813–1899) was one of the most influential figures and prolific writers in the Tibetan Buddhist world. He was a founder and the single most important proponent of the nonsectarian movement that flourished in eastern Tibet… Read More

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world's treasury of sacred literature. The author Tsong-kha-pa (1357–1419) completed this masterpiece in 1402 and it soon… Read More

His Life and Times

To Tibetan Buddhists, Guru Rinpoche is a Buddha. This book recounts Guru Rinpoche's historic visit to Tibet and explains his continuing significance to Buddhists. In doing so, it illustrates how a country whose powerful armies overran the capital of… Read More

Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara with Commentary by Ju Mipham

Introduction to the Middle Way combines the timeless devotional-scholarly poetry of Indian master Chandrakirti (ca. seventh century) with the exhaustive explanation of its meaning by Jamgön Mipham (18461912), whose commentary was composed eleven centuries after Chandrakirti lived. Chandrakirti is… Read More

Jamgon Kongtrul on "Pilgrimage and Sacred Geography"

Sacred Ground describes two journeys: a journey outward to specific pilgrimage places in eastern Tibet, and a journey inward to the sacred world of tantra, accessible through contemplation and meditation. It sheds light on Himalayan Buddhists' concepts of sacred… Read More

The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra with Commentary

All sentient beings without exception have buddha nature—the inherent purity and perfection of the mind, untouched by changing mental states. Thus there is neither any reason for conceit in deeming oneself better than others nor any reason for self-contempt, thinking… Read More

For artists, designers, and all with an interest in Buddhist and Tibetan art, this is the first exhaustive reference to the seemingly infinite variety of symbols found throughout Tibetan art in line drawings, paintings, and ritual objects. Hundreds of the… Read More

Tibetans accord The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa a classic status comparable to that of the Mahabharata and the Bible, and revere its author as probably the best single exemplar of the religious life. Milarepa was an… Read More

According to Tibetan traditions, the Indian Buddhist Prasangika-Madhyamika school is the one that represents the final true thought of the Buddha. Unique Tenets of the Middle Way Consequence School presents and analyzes the issues that separate that school from the… Read More

A Tale from Tibet

In this adventurous retelling of the classic Tibetan tale of the power of faith, a young man fails to obtain a sacred relic for his dying mother and deceivingly brings her a tooth from the skeleton of a dog.… Read More